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ALF (1)mSwedish, Norwegian, Danish, Norse MythologyDerived from Old Norse alfr "elf". In Norse legend this was the name of king, the suitor of a reluctant maiden named Alfhild. She avoided marrying him by disguising herself as a warrior, but when they fought she was so impressed by his strength that she changed her mind.

ALVISmNorse Mythology, LatvianFrom the Old Norse Alvíss meaning "all wise". In Norse mythology this was the name of a dwarf who was to marry Thor's daughter Thrud. Thor was not pleased with this so he tricked Alvis by asking him questions until the sun rose, at which time the dwarf was turned into stone.

BALDERmNorse MythologyMeans "prince" from Old Norse. In Norse mythology Balder was the son of Odin and Frigg. Because of the disturbing dreams he had when he was young, his mother extracted an oath from every thing in the world that it would not harm him. However the evil fire god Loki learned that she had overlooked mistletoe. Being jealous, he tricked the blind god Hoder into throwing a branch of mistletoe at Balder, which killed him.

BRYNHILDRfNorse Mythology, Ancient ScandinavianOld Norse cognate of BRÜNHILD. In the Norse legend the 'Volsungasaga' Brynhildr was rescued by the hero Sigurd in the guise of Gunnar. Brynhildr and Gunnar were married, but when Sigurd's wife Gudrun let slip that it was in fact Sigurd who had rescued her, Brynhildr plotted against him. She accused Sigurd of taking her virginity, spurring Gunnar to arrange Sigurd's murder.

FREYAfNorse Mythology, English (British, Modern), GermanFrom Old Norse Freyja meaning "lady". This was the name of the goddess of love, beauty, war and death in Norse mythology. She claimed half of the heroes who were slain in battle and brought them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother Freyr and father Njord, she was one of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir). Some scholars connect her with the goddess Frigg.... [more]

FREYRmNorse Mythology, IcelandicMeans "lord" in Old Norse. This was the name of a Norse god. He may have originally been called Yngvi, with the name Freyr being his title. Freyr presided over fertility, sunlight and rain, and was the husband of the frost giantess Gerd. With his twin sister Freya and father Njord he was one of the group of deities called the Vanir.

FRIGGfNorse MythologyMeans "beloved" in Old Norse, ultimately derived from Indo-European *pri "to love". In Norse mythology she was the goddess of the earth, air and fertility, and the wife of Odin. Some scholars believe that she and the goddess Freya share a common origin.

GANDALFmNorse Mythology, LiteratureMeans "wand elf" in Old Norse, from the elements gandr "wand, staff, cane" and álfr "elf". This name belongs to a dwarf in the 'Völuspá', a 13th-century Scandinavian manuscript that forms part of the Poetic Edda. The author J. R. R. Tolkien borrowed the name for a wizard in his novels 'The Hobbit' (1937) and 'The Lord of the Rings' (1954).

GUDRUNfNorse Mythology, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, GermanFrom the Old Norse name Guðrún meaning "god's secret lore", derived from the elements guð "god" and rún "secret lore". In Norse legend Gudrun was the wife of Sigurd. After his death she married Atli, but when he murdered her brothers, she killed her sons by him, fed him their hearts, and then slew him.

HEIDRUNfNorse Mythology, GermanDerived from Old Norse heiðr meaning "bright, clear" and rún meaning "secret". In Norse mythology this was the name of a goat that would eat the leaves from the tree of life and produce mead in her udder.

HELfNorse MythologyIn Norse mythology this was the name of the daughter of Loki. She got her name from the underworld, also called Hel, where she ruled, which meant "to conceal, to cover" in Old Norse (related to the English word hell).

IÐUNNfNorse Mythology, Ancient ScandinavianProbably derived from Old Norse ið "again" and unna "to love". In Norse mythology Iðunn was the goddess of spring and immortality whose responsibility it was to guard the gods' apples of youth.

LOKImNorse MythologyMeaning unknown, possibly derived from the Germanic root *luka meaning "knot, lock". In Norse legend Loki was a trickster god associated with magic and fire. Over time he became more and more evil, and he was eventually chained to a rock by the other gods.

NJORDmNorse Mythology, Swedish, Norwegian, DanishFrom Old Norse Njǫrðr, which was possibly derived from the Indo-European root *ner meaning "strong, vigourous". Njord was the Norse god of the sea, sailing, fishing and fertility. With his children Freyr and Freya he was a member of the Vanir.

ODINmNorse Mythology, English (Modern)Anglicized form of Old Norse Óðinn, which was derived from óðr "inspiration, rage, frenzy". It ultimately developed from the early Germanic *Woðanaz. The name appears as Woden in Anglo-Saxon sources (for example, as the founder of several royal lineages in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) and in forms such as Wotan, Wuotan or Wodan in continental Europe. However, Odin is best known from Norse mythology, as the highest of the gods, presiding over art, war, wisdom and death. He resided in Valhalla, where warriors went after they were slain.

SAGAfNorse Mythology, Swedish, IcelandicPossibly means "seeing one" in Old Norse. This was the name of the Norse goddess of poetry and history, sometimes identified with the goddess Frigg. This is also a modern Swedish word meaning "story, fairy tale".

SIGURDmNorwegian, Danish, Swedish, Norse MythologyFrom the Old Norse name Sigurðr, which was derived from the elements sigr "victory" and varðr "guardian". Sigurd was the hero of the Norse legend the 'Volsungasaga', which tells how his foster-father Regin sent him to recover a hoard of gold guarded by the dragon Fafnir. After slaying the dragon Sigurd tasted some of its blood, enabling him to understand the language of birds, who told him that Regin was planning to betray him. In a later adventure, Sigurd disguised himself as Gunnar (his wife Gudrun's brother) and rescued the maiden Brynhildr from a ring of fire, with the result that Gunnar and Brynhildr were married. When the truth eventually came out, Brynhildr took revenge upon Sigurd. The stories of the German hero Siegfried were in part based on him.

THORmNorse Mythology, Norwegian, Danish, SwedishFrom the Old Norse Þórr meaning "thunder", ultimately from the early Germanic *Þunraz. Thor was the Norse god of strength, thunder, war and storms, the son of Odin. He was armed with a hammer called Mjolnir, and wore an enchanted belt that doubled his strength.

TYRmNorse MythologyNorse form of the name of the Germanic god Tiwaz, related to Indo-European dyeus (see ZEUS). In Norse mythology Tyr was the god of war and justice, the son of the god Odin. He carried a spear in his left hand, since his right hand was bitten off by the wolf Fenrir. At the time of the end of the world, the Ragnarok, Tyr will slay and be slain by the giant hound Garm.

URDfNorse MythologyFrom the Old Norse Urðr meaning "fate". In Norse mythology Urd was one of the three Norns, or goddesses of destiny. She was responsible for the past.

VERDANDIfNorse MythologyFrom Old Norse Verðandi meaning "becoming, happening". Verdandi was one of the three Norns, or goddesses of destiny, in Norse mythology. She was responsible for the present.